Pottstown man charged in brutal rape

POTTSTOWN — A Pottstown man was charged in a brutal rape in which he allegedly choked his victim to the point of unconsciousness as she was leaving after the attack.

William Gregory Andrews, 26, of Chestnut Street, will face a litany of felonies including rape by forcible compulsion, forced indecent sexual assault, sexual assault, two different aggravated indecent assault charges and aggravated assault, as well as several misdemeanors including making terroristic threats and false imprisonment.

The alleged attack occurred Aug. 15 when a woman who knows Andrews went to meet him at his home around 9:15 p.m., according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by the Pottstown Police.

It is The Mercury’s policy not to publish the identity of a reported victim in sexual assault cases.

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As the victim was driving to Andrews’ apartment, he allegedly called her, told her he was drunk and called her a derogatory name. When she arrived, he met her at her vehicle and, because he looked angry, the victim told police she gave him “a hug and a kiss to try to calm him down.”

“Andrews told the victim he was going to teach her a lesson” before he tried to touch her beneath her clothes, the affidavit said. The victim reportedly pushed his hand away, thought he was joking and followed him into his residence, court documents said.

However, as they walked up to Andrews’ apartment, the affidavit said he pushed the victim and told her “she was going to get it.” He also allegedly told two children in the apartment before proceeding to the bedroom with the victim, “I’m sorry, kids, for what you are going to hear.”

Once in the bedroom, Andrews “became aggressive,” the affidavit said, and allegedly forced the victim to perform a sex act while grabbing her hair.

Moving on to another sex act, Andrews allegedly continued pulling the victim’s hair and “strangle(ed) her with both his hands around her neck and his thumbs were pushing on her throat,” according to the affidavit.

“The victim said it was hard to breath at this time and that she had pain in her neck while Andrews was grabbing her,” the affidavit said.

At one point, the victim alleged that Andrews was trying to “hit the back of her head off of the floor” but she grabbed his wrists “because it felt like he was going to rip her hair out” and kept her from hitting her head, court documents said.

She also allegedly told Andrews “no” several times, according to the affidavit.

Andrews reportedly forced the victim into several more sex acts but she began crying and he stopped, court documents said.

“At this time, Andrews threatened that he would beat her up and throw her down the stairs to the point where an ambulance would have to ‘scoop her off the pavement,’” the affidavit said.

He allegedly followed the victim into her vehicle and “grabbed her by the neck and again began to strangle her.”

“The victim said that she could not breathe and that she passed out in the vehicle due to Andrews strangling her,” the affidavit said.

She came to with Andrews allegedly calling her names and only then did he leave the vehicle so she could drive away, the victim told police.

Shortly afterward, the victim went to Reading Hospital and Medical Center and a rape kit was performed. Pottstown Police took photos of the red marks and bruises the victim received in the alleged attack. Detective Heather Long also reported that the victim reported symptoms consistent with a person who has been strangled.

Andrews was arrested Aug. 16 and arraigned the same day. His bail was set at $250,000 cash, which he did not post.

He was remanded to Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

An online search of court documents showed that Andrews has a long arrest record dating back to 2006. Most recently, he was sentenced to between 96 and 23 months in jail relating to criminal conspiracy charges for “aiding in receiving stolen property” in Pottstown in 2011. He also served time on drug related charges in the past and been arrested for aggravated assault, according to court documents.

A preliminary hearing in the case before District Judge Edward C. Kropp Sr. is scheduled for Aug. 27.

CORRECTION: In the original version of this story Detective Heather Long’s name was spelled incorrectly. We apologize for the error.

About the Author

Frank Otto is a general assignment reporter covering Phoenixville, Limerick and Spring-Ford schools in addition to features and spot news. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Otto moonlights with the sports department on occasion. Reach the author at fotto@pottsmerc.com
or follow Frank on Twitter: @fottojourno.